Red String of Fate
by lavenderangelkiss
Summary: Life is full of surprises, good ones and bad ones. For some people, life might be a blessing while for others it was nothing but a curse. And when it comes to love, wiseman said that true love will find a way.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER : Naruto Shippuden belongs to Masashi Kishimoto but the plot of this story belongs to me.

**An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstances.**

**The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break.**

**-Chinese Proverb-**

**PROLOGUE**

The six years old Hinata Hyuga narrowing her pearl white with tint of lavender eyes as she looked outside the carriage. They were in the middle of the desert and the bright sunlight made the little girl a bit dizzy.

"Father..w-where are we going to? It's so hot h-here.." she began to sulk, making her father slightly frowned.

"We are going to Suna for a business trip, Hinata. You need to know the world outside Konoha and learn new things. Experience is the best teacher in life although you must also understand that experience is a hard teacher. It will give the test first and the lesson afterwards." Hiashi Hyuga was a man of wisdom. He might be strict to Hinata and not pampering his one and only daughter but deep inside his heart, he only wanted the best for her.

"Hinata, learn how to socialize and behave yourself. Be a good girl so I can be proud of you. Understand?" Hinata nodding her head, her tiny hands fidgeting nervously when a man with the same age as her father came to greet them.

"This must be Hinata-chan. A very cute and beautiful daughter of my dear friend, Hiashi," the man smiled brightly to her and Hinata quickly bowed to honour him. "I guess you are one or two year younger than my son, Gaara." He sighed as he rolling his eyes, "I told him to meet you here but that kid is really difficult to handle."

Hiashi patted his shoulder and replied, "Kazekage-sama, we were also at his age once. And you know, boys will be boys." The fourth Kazekage chuckled and nodded, "You're right, my friend. Now let's go inside. You and your daughter must be tired after such a long journey."

After getting some rest, Hiashi and the fourth Kazekage went to the office to talk about their business plan while Hinata allowed to play at the mansion. She walked around the garden, admiring all the beautiful and exotic flowers that she had never seen before. Suddenly she heard lots of noises right outside the front gate and before she knew what was going on, a little boy with bright, red hair walked in. His face was furious and one of his hand gripping his Teddy bear tightly.

"You monster!"

"Look what you've done to Mamoru!"

"Gaara, you're nothing but a mean devil!"

All those yelling and also the sound of another boy crying out loud made Hinata completely perplexed. Her eyes met Gaara's eyes, his turqoise eyes were full of anger and hatred but she also noticed something else. His tears.

Gaara was a bit surprised to see a stranger at the garden of his mansion but he couldn't care less. He quickly wiped his tears and began to run, not knowing that the arm of his precious Teddy bear was falling to the ground.

Hinata picked it up and took a closer look while she began to understand what might just happened out there. _Maybe Gaara-kun was angry because Mamoru broke his Teddy and he hit Mamoru for that._

Although she wasn't sure about her own theory, she walked to her room and grabbed something from her small suitcase before she began to look for Gaara. It wasn't easy to find him but finally she saw him sitting alone at the corner of the backyard, a hidden place behind the desert palm trees and bushes. The boy was still sobbing while hugging his Teddy bear.

"Ummm..G-Gaara-kun.." Hinata greeted him gently.

Gaara glared at the tiny figure who was standing in front of him. He just wanted to be alone, like he always did. Besides, he hated if anyone saw him crying, he didn't want any single soul to witness his weak moment. His pride wouldn't allow that. "What do you want?! Go away!"

Hinata flinched at Gaara's harsh words but she knew she must be strong to face him.

"I..ummm..I w-want to fix Teddy," she murmured, making the red haired boy frowned even more. Before Gaara could respond, Hinata continued, "T-Teddy is hurt.. I guess h-he have a broken arm so I..I will heal him." She showed him her travel sewing kit and the piece of Teddy's broken arm.

Gaara was speechless. Not only this bizarre girl didn't run away after his rudeness to her, she even wanted to fix his Teddy Bear. He looked at her with scrutinizing eyes. Blue or more like dark purple short hair, chubby and pink cheeks also lilac eyes with no pupil. Gaara thought this girl was completely weird but mostly because she seemed to be not afraid of him.

"Gaara-kun? Is it o-okay if I fix him?"

That stuttering made him a bit annoyed but he finally gave her a small nod after he glanced at his favorite plushie.

Hinata sat next to him and carefully began to stitch the broken part. Gaara watched her closely and growled, "Becareful with him! If you make Teddy worse, I swear I'm going to.."

"Look! It's done!" Hinata said happily as she proudly showing Teddy to him, ignoring his threat. "Teddy, h-how do you feel now? I'm feeling m-much better, nurse Hinata-chan," she played a bit with Teddy and giggled, right before the legitimate owner snatched his Teddy back.

"WHO SAID YOU CAN PLAY WITH MY TEDDY?!"

Hinata was startled and lowering her head, didn't dare to meet his glaring eyes. "Go on and run, go cry to your mother!" Gaara was taunting her coldheartedly.

"I..d-don't have mother a-anymore.." she murmured, her voice could barely heard by him but it was enough to made his evil smirk disappeared.

"M-mother went to heaven with m-my little sister. T-they are safe and h-happy there.." Hinata lifted her chin so her eyes could meet his cold ones. Gaara saw how the little girl struggled, trying hard not to let the tears falling while she was forcing herself to smile.

Swallowing an imaginary lump in his throat, Gaara realized how cruel he was to her. This girl only wanted to help him fixing Teddy but all he did was being mean to her. He looked away, focusing his eyes to the palm trees before he began to speak, "I didn't mean to.. Look, all I'm saying was.." Gaara sighed, shaking his head desperately. "Forget it. I'm a monster, a devil kid. You should stay away from me, for your own sake."

"But..I want to be y-your friend.." she bit her bottom lip as she looked at him with innocent eyes.

Gaara was taken aback. He began to think that his mind starting to play trick on him or something.

"You are wacky, you know that? Nobody want to be my friend, not even want to be near me. Everybody hates me," Gaara said bitterly.

Hinata smiled a bit, "My father taught me n-not to judge s-someone by the o-opinion of others. So..ummm..I d-don't care what other people say about you, Gaara-kun." Despite her young age, Hinata was a smart, wise and more mature than other children.

Suddenly Gaara handed her his Teddy, "You may play with him and..uh..I want to be your friend too.. Hinata-chan."

A happy smile plastered on Hinata's cute face. "T-thank you.." she carefully held Teddy and mumbled, "Hello Teddy. My n-name is Hinata Hyuga and I l-live in Konoha. Y-you are the most b-beautiful Teddy bear I've ever seen." One thing that also caught Gaara's attention was Hinata's voice. It was somehow soothing and really pleasant to hear. If only she didn't stutter, she could probably become a wonderful singer.

Suddenly Gaara stood up when an idea came across his mind. "What is your favorite animal?" Tapping her small index finger to her chin while she was thinking, Hinata finally replied, "A bunny."

He grabbed her hand and walked to the backyard's gate, didn't notice that her cheeks turned into darker shades of pink. Outside the gate, Hinata saw the endless desert, everywhere she turned to look, it was only sand.

Gaara's ability of controlling sand made him able to create a sand bunny. The Hyuga girl squealed in happiness as her lilac eyes watching both Gaara and the sand bunny with lots of admiration.

"Wow! I-it's amazing! H-how did you do that, Gaara-kun?" The boy only smirked as he shrugged. "You might like this one too," he made her a desert lily from the sand. Hinata couldn't hide how amused she was, "Gaara-kun..it's very p-pretty!"

They both were playing and laughing, enjoying their time together. It was one of the happiest moment in Gaara's lonely life. The moment he would always cherished untill the day he die. But unfortunatelly that moment couldn't last forever because the next day, Hinata and her father must return to Konoha.

Gaara's heart flinched in pain as he saw Hinata outside his mansion. He refused to meet her because he didn't want to say goodbye but Hinata was determined to see him for the very last time and without thinking any further, she ran to the backyard.

"Gaara-kun..I.."

Gaara quickly turned his body, making Hinata only able to see his back. He didn't say anything but from the way his body trembling, she knew he was crying and she tried so hard not to cry because it would only make them both more sad.

Hinata took one of the clip on her hair, it was a small, silver butterfly hairclip decorated with purple gems. She reached for his hand and gently put the hairclip in his palm.

"If y-you feel lonely or s-sad, p-please look at it a-and remember t-that you have me.." her tone was cheerful but it only made him cried harder.

"Why? Why everyone I care about always leaving me alone.." Gaara muttered with hoarse voice, thick with sadness. He finally turned his body to face her. Seeing the expression on his face and hearing those words made Hinata couldn't hold her own tears any longer.

"G-goodbye, Gaara-kun.." she looked at him once again before she turned away and ran.

From that moment, Teddy bear and Hinata's hairclip became two things that most precious to Gaara. And on his birthday, secretly he always made the same wish, each and every single year.

_I wish someday I can meet Hinata Hyuga again._

* * *

><p>I just love GaaHina 3<p>

I dedicate this fanfic for my dearest brother. His endless support has giving me the courage to write more stories.

Please R & R ^^ Thank you for reading this fic and I'm planning to make few chapters from this story.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**10 years later**_

To honour Naruto's birthday, Gaara finally agreed to join the celebration at Chashitsu Ochaya, the most exclusive tea house at Hanamachi, a district in Konoha. Gaara was officially the Kazekage now. And at this moment, he was in Konoha for an annual meeting with the Hokage, which was no one else but his good old friend, Naruto.

Being an introvert as always, Gaara wished the party would be over soon so he could get some rest before he return to Suna the next day. Other comrades were also there but the red haired male was barely spoken to them.

"Naruto! I'm wishing you all the luck and happiness in the world! For you and your lovely wife to be, Sakura-chan!" the half drunk Kiba glanced around, noticing that Naruto's fiance was nowhere to be found in the room. "Hey, wait a second! Where is she? In fact, there are no girls invited to this party?! What the heck is this?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, slightly getting annoyed by Kiba's act while the birthday boy laughed. "Kiba, don't worry about it! I invite you guys here not without a reason! In this place, you can see the most unique and delicate beauties, which are also part of our history. They have their own world, full of secrets and mysteries," Naruto smirked and raised his cup of sake.

"But first, I want to make a toast for my birthday and for our friendship! _Kanpai__1_!"

"_Kanpai_!" Gaara, Sasuke, Kiba, Shino and Kakashi replied in unison. Not long after that, a woman walked inside the room and bowed politely to them. The lady was definitely beautiful in her mid fifties and she looked very elegant in her expensive black kimono with golden chrysanthemum flowers and white cranes printed on it.

"_Konbanwa__2_, gentlemen. I'm Madame Tsunade and I'll proudly present you the performance of my most talented _maiko__3_, Tamayu with her _onee-san__4_, Kikuryo. I should also inform you that Kikuryo-san is the number one geisha in Hanamachi district." She paused for a while, giving them her charming smile. "I can guarantee that this evening will be an enchanting and yet an unforgettable evening for all of us."

After Tsunade finished her sentence, two young ladies stepped inside the room. Their faces were painted in snow white while the eyebrows were lined in ebony black. The light shades of red around their eyes and their crimson lips made their appearance even more astonishing. They were like two porcelain dolls with beautiful kimono and pretty hair ornaments.

The taller one, Kikuryo, sat on the _tatami__5_ with her _shamisen__6_ while Tamayu took the position to start the _Kyo No Shiki__7_ dance. With her red and golden paper fan, Tamayu began to dance gracefully along with the wonderful melody of the shamisen.

All eyes were focused on Tamayu, she seemed to hypnotize them with every flawless moves of her dance. Nobody in that room knew that Gaara's heart almost stopped beating the moment he saw the unusual colour of Tamayu's eyes.

_Those eyes! I recognize those eyes! Could it be..her?_

His memories travelled back to his younger years when he met Hinata and how that little girl was able to melt his cold heart. Gaara knew Hinata lived in Konoha and he did try to look for her each time he visited the village but nobody knew about her. It seemed like the girl was vanished into thin air and Gaara slowly losing his hope.

He was lost in his own reverie until he heard the loud sound of clapping hands and Tamayu was bowing to them, silently thanking them for the appreciation of her dance performance.

"That was amazing!" Naruto said, his eyes were gleaming in admiration. "You're very talented, Tamayu-chan!" Tamayu's cheeks were slightly blushing. "_Domo arigatou gozaimasu__8 _," she replied politely. Sasuke glanced at her, scanning her appearance before he opened his mouth, "The flashy world of geisha," he sneered. "Lots of people see it as nothing but a high class prostitution world."

Sasuke's words made everyone gasped, even Gaara who always had his stoic expression was affected by this harsh comment.

Kikuryo was about to open her mouth when Tamayu calmly replied, "Geisha is an artist, not a courtesan. We sell our talent in art and not our body. Our performance can only be seen in a respectable tea houses or other appropriate yet honourable places. And a bedroom is definitely not one of it."

With a lovely smile on her face, she continued, "But then again, wiseman said, never waste your time trying to explain who you are to people who are commited to misunderstanding you."

"Touché!" Kakashi said in a happy tone, making the group cheering for Tamayu.

Sasuke smirked, he didn't expect that Tamayu could give him such a smart answer. "Beauty with a brain. I admire that because I don't see it a lot," he took a sip of his sake. "Your name is Tamayu, it means excellent jewel. The name suits you perfectly. You will be an excellent jewel for your _danna__9 _someday."

Gaara almost couldn't hide how annoyed he was with Sasuke. Although he wasn't one hundred percent sure that Tamayu was Hinata but something in his mind kept saying that this girl belong to him. And the fact that Sasuke, who never had any interest in girls, giving a compliment to Tamayu made him kind of jealous.

Tsunade was explaining them about a game called _Konpira Fune Fune__10_ before she took the shamisen. The music began while Kikuryo and Tamayu were demonstarting the game.

"Ah! I get it! I get it! I wanna play too!" Kiba said with lots of excitement. "Tamayu-chan, I want to play the game with you!"

Tamayu smiled as she nodded. "Hey, Kiba! You should respect the birthday boy and asked if he wanted to play first," Shino said as he ruffled Naruto's thick, blond hair. "Nah, it's okay if Kiba want to play it first," the young Hokage replied, trying to pinned Shino down.

"Or in this case, I'm the oldest between you boys so I should get the honour to play it first!" Kakashi suddenly said, playfully trying to push Kiba away. "Hey! Get off me, old man!" The two of them were acting like little children, making the ladies laughed softly.

Kikuryo smiled, "Now now, gentlemen. Perhaps I can get the honour to pour some sake to your empty cups? Kakashi-sama and Kiba-sama seems to be a bit thirsty." Seeing a chance coming, Gaara quickly added, "Then it will only be fair if I'm the one who play the game first. Enjoy your drink, guys."

Ignoring the protests from his comrades, Gaara sat in front of Tamayu. The girl slightly bowing her head before they started the game. And as we could tell, Gaara lost the game because instead of watching the movements of Tamayu's hand, he kept staring at her face.

He scratched his head, feeling slightly annoyed as the rest of the group were laughing at his clumsiness. "Alright, Kazekage-sama. You lost, now it's my turn," Naruto said as he walked to them. Before he stood up, Gaara glanced at the girl in front of him and asked her something.

"What is your favorite animal?"

Tamayu blinked her lilac eyes, his question was a bit uncommon. After few seconds, she replied with a small giggle, "Definitely a bunny."

* * *

><p>1 Cheers<p>

2 Good evening

3 Apprentice geisha

4 Big sister

5 Traditional Japanese floor

6 Three-stringed Japanese music instrument played with a plectrum called a _bachi_

7 Four seasons of Kyoto dance

8 Thank you very much

9 A geisha's main patron, a protector. He will pay for many of a geisha's expenses. But he doesn't have exclusive rights when it comes to sexual favors. Although if the geisha choose to have that kind of relationship with him then it's up to her. She will still have other clients to entertain but her _danna_ will come first if he have an event that he wishes to attend with her.

10 Geisha drinking game

Hello everyone ^^ Thank you for reading my story, I hope you like it. I always fond of geisha. I admire them a lot and that's why I want geisha to become the theme of this story.

R & R are very appreciated :) I promise to write the next chapter soon~


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day, early in the morning, Gaara was sitting in Tsunade's office. His face was expressionless as usual but Tsunade knew there was something important that he needed to discuss with her.

"I feel honored with this sudden visit of the Kazekage to my humble _okiya_," Tsunade said with a polite smile on her face. "I assume this have something to do with our performance last night during the Hokage's party?"

Gaara didn't even bother to smile or made a small talk. He crossed his arms, holding them against his chest as he replied, "What is Tamayu's real name?"

Tsunade widened her eyes but she managed to stay calm. In their world, asking a geisha's real name was something really unusual, even could be considered as taboo. "Kazekage-sama, why does all of sudden you.."

Before Tsunade could finish her sentence, Gaara cut her off abruptly, "Just answer my question. You do know I have my influence here and I can make the Hokage revoke the license of this _okiya_."

Hearing his words, Tsunade realized that Gaara was the kind of man who wouldn't hesitate to do everything to get what he want. This man could be dangerous and Tsunade didn't want anything bad happened to the girls or this _okiya_. Her geisha bussiness was very important to her and she preferred to run it smoothly.

"Tamayu's real name is Hinata Hyuga," she answered him, her eyes were filled with curiousity, wondering why the Kazekage had so much interest about her _maiko_. For a brief moment, Gaara felt like the time had stopped for a while. He finally found the girl he was searching for all of these years.

"Very well then," the red haired male said as he took a silver aluminium briefcase and placed it on the table.

"100.000.000 ryo. The money will be yours after you sign this contract, stating that Hinata Hyuga is no longer your maiko. She have no more debts to pay to you and from this day, she have nothing to do with you and this _okiya_."

Tsunade was dumbfounded, staring at the money and at the Kazekage with her mouth wide open. Not only Gaara was willing to pay her double than what Hinata had to pay her for the study and the living cost but at the same time, Tsunade also worry for his motives. Her life experience taught her that when it seemed to good to be true then it usually was.

"Kazekage-sama, I respect this offer but this is something that I need to talk with Hinata as well. I..I mean, you can be her _danna_ if you want and she could stay here with us while you will have all the privilage.."

Gaara hissed, getting annoyed by Tsunade's words, "First of all, I do not wish to be her _danna_. And after you sign the damn contract, she will go and live with me in Suna. Last but not least, who said that this is an offer?"

With a devilish smirk on his face, Gaara continued, "Madame Tsunade, I know you have a serious amount of gambling debt to some 'well-known' people in my village. And when I said well known, I believe you do know what I mean. People who wouldn't hesitate to leave permanent scars on your pretty face or to create serious damage to this beautiful _okiya_. And we don't want that to happen, am I right?"

Tsunade's face was completely pale after she heard his words and it pleased Gaara, "I can make all those debts vanish in no time and all you have to do is to sign the contract."

Her hand was shaking when she grabbed the pen and signed the contract. No matter what, Hinata was like a daughter to her and this sudden change made Tsunade's heart flinched with pain, knowing that Hinata would leave her soon and only God knew what would happen to that poor child in Suna.

"Get her ready. In one hour I will comeback to pick her up." Gaara took the contract and walked to the door, "Don't do anything stupid that will make you regret it for the rest of your life, understand? Nice doing business with you, madame Tsunade."

"Kazekage-sama, can I at least see her in Suna someday?" Tsunade asked with hoarse voice, trying hard not to cry.

Gaara stopped for a while and his answer made her heart crumbling into pieces. "No."

Meanwhile at the second floor of the okiya, Kikuryo, who was also known as Kurenai, was sneaking up into Hinata's room. Seeing her younger sister was still sleeping peacefully, a naughty smile appeared on Kurenai's face. She walked closer and pulled Hinata's blanket before her lanky fingers tickled her, making the Hyuga girl gasped and laughed uncontrollably.

"Kyaaaa! Kurenai _onee-san_! Stop..please.." Hinata giggled, trying to catch Kurenai's hands. "You give up, my cute sleepy head sister?" Kurenai was teasing her as she ruffled Hinata's long, indigo hair.

"I give up, _onee-san_," Hinata replied with a smile on her face. She loved Kurenai so much, she was like a real family to her and so did madame Tsunade. They both adored Hinata but they also won't hesitate to scold and punish her if she did something wrong. Just like a real mother and big sister.

"Look what I got for you," Kurenai placed a small box full with fresh baked cinnamon rolls on Hinata's lap, making the younger female squealed in happiness. "Kurenai _onee-san_! You're the best big sister in the world! Thank you very much," Hinata wrapped her thin arms around Kurenai's body.

Kurenai smiled while her hand began to stroke Hinata's hair gently, "I know it's been a long time ago since you eat that so I thought I bought you some for your breakfast, Hinata-chan." Hinata nodded as she began to eat a cinnamon roll.

"I'm happy because tonight I will meet my _danna_, Asuma-san," Kurenai said with a bit of blush on her face, making Hinata grinned. "Kurenai _onee-san_ is really in love with Asuma-san," she said teasingly, making Kurenai rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What do you know about love, little cinnamon roll monster?" That was one of her loving nickname for Hinata.

"Anyway, Asuma-san is always nice and caring to me. Hinata-chan, I hope someday you will have a good _danna_ too." Right after Kurenai finished her sentence, Tsunade bursted into the room, "Hinata, get all your things and Kurenai, help her to pack them all. I will send the maid to help."

"What? _Okaa-san_, why do Hinata have to pack her stuff? What's going on here?"

"There is no time to explain, Kurenai. She must leave this okiya within one hour," Tsunade knew Kurenai would react heavily to this.

"W-what? But why? _Okaa-san_, did I do something wrong? Please..please forgive me..please don't throw me out," Hinata's face was getting pale as her lilac eyes welled up with tears.

Kurenai gritted her teeth in anger, she knew she must always respect and obey Tsunade but when it came to Hinata, she wouldn't care if she had to fight with their okaa-san. "_Okaa-san_! We both know this isn't right so with all the respect, explain us what is going on here!"

Tsunade let out a heavy sigh and handed Kurenai the copy of the contract. "I can't refuse because the Kazekage threatening me and he will use all his influence to shut down or even destroy this _okiya_ if I said no." The older woman looked at Hinata and murmured, "I'm sorry, child. I hope someday you can forgive me."

Hinata could only cry and hugged Tsunade tightly. She knew she could never hate this woman who had picked her up from the street when she was abandoned by her own family and later raised her like her own daughter.

"_Okaa-san_..I..I just can say thank you..for everything.." Hinata tried to speak properly in the middle of her cry. "I..understand the reason why and I hold no grudge against you."

Kurenai growled in anger as her red eyes were filled with hatred, "That evil Kazekage! How dare he do something like this! I knew it! I knew he have a bad intention to Hinata from the way he was staring at her last night! If only we could turn back time, I will give deadly poison into his sake! Such a bastard!"

"Kurenai, please calm yourself down and help your little sister instead. If the Kazekage is here and Hinata isn't ready yet, we don't know what will happen," Tsunade said weakly as she wiped her tears and got up to help Hinata with all her belongings.

"Tch! I'll shove this bloody contract into his mouth. That what will happen," Kurenai grunted while helping Hinata to get herself ready.

One hour was passing by and Gaara was waiting for Hinata outside the _okiya_. The happy sound of chirping birds didn't make anyone's mood any better. Tsunade and Kurenai were also there for their last goodbye. Kurenai glared at Gaara, showing him how much she hated the red haired male and he returned the same deadly glare right back at her.

Hinata bowed deeply to Tsunade and Kurenai. There were so many things she would like to say to them but she knew the moment she opened her mouth, she would break down and cry.

Kurenai didn't care anymore, she walked to Hinata and hugged her like there was no tomorrow, "Please be strong, no matter what will happen. You know where to find me, Hinata-chan. I will always help you, no matter what and youre not alone. Keep that in your mind, alright?" Kurenai cupped Hinata's face and kissed her forehead.

Gaara cleared his throat, showing them that he was getting impatient with all of this and it made Kurenai even more annoyed. "You piece of s.." Hinata quickly squeezed Kurenai's hands before she could finish her words and whispering, "I will be strong, _onee-san_. And we will meet each other again someday, I promise."

Gaara motioned Hinata to stepped inside the carriage and without saying anything to Tsunade and Kurenai, he joined Hinata and sat next to her on their journey to Suna.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the late update . Busy, busy, busy.<p>

Thank you for reading my fic ^^ I'm planning to write a SasuHina fanfic soon because Sasuke and Hinata are just..purrrrfect! Yup~ that's my opinion and I totally ship them.


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